BMW has announced that the BMW i8 from the brands electrified range has reached the end of the product cycle and will be discontinued soon. BMW will be producing the last 200 examples of the Ultimate Sophisto Edition of the BMW i8 at their Leipzig plant which will cease in the middle of April this year.
The BMW i8 is powered by a 1.5-litre TwinPower Turbo 3-cylinder petrol engine that produces 231 hp of power and 318.6 Nm of torque. The petrol engine is mated to an electric powertrain which consists of an AC Synchronous Electric Motor that generates 143 hp of power and 338.9 Nm of torque that is coupled to an 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with integrated power electronics, charger and generator mode for recuperation. The petrol engine comes with a 6-speed automatic transmission and the electric motor comes with a 2-speed automatic transmission. The hybrid can produce a combined output of 374 hp and can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 4.4 seconds and can reach a top speed of 250 kmph. The i8 coupe has an electric-only range of 55 km and the i8 roadster has an electric-only range of 53 km.
In terms of its styling, the BMW i8 features an aerodynamically optimised body with completely closed grille, active air vents on the front, LED headlights and daytime running lights, contoured side skirts, gull-wing doors, aero ducts on the side and rear.
On the interior, the i8 features a multilayered dashboard with a digital instruments cluster, a centrally mounted infotainment system, carbon fibre trim on the dash, central tunnel and the door cards.
The material used on the BMW i8 is focused on sustainability such as olive tree extract is used to tan the leather and recycled PET is used as a starting material for the textiles. Not only the plastic that is used is recycled but the aluminium used is obtained through recycling or produced using a renewable source of energy. The electrical energy required for the production of carbon fibre is also generated from Moses Lake in the US state of Washington.
The brand has successfully rolled off 20,000 units of the i8 sports car and holds more than 50% of the global market share in the sports car with an electrified drive segment. 